Published at 11:15 AM on April 17, 2009

By Jeffrey Bloomer

Springsteen, Vedder, Damon, Cheadle, many more aboard for People's History of the United States

In an unusually ambitious project, the History Channel announced that it plans to adapt Howard Zinn’s seminal 1980 book A People’s History of the United States as a two-hour film with archival footage and readings by Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and John Legend and film stars like Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Don Cheadle and Marisa Tomei.

Variety reports the deal came with various other spin-off media for use on demand and in schools, among other platforms. This particular incarnation of the book began development in 2007, but some version has been planned for more than a decade.

If the celebrity turnaround pays off for the channel, producers hinted at the possibility of a series beyond the planned film.

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